James Van Dyne

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57 posts

Life 77% · Film & TV 5% · Culture 4% · Food 4% · History 4% · Writing 4%

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  1. The Week #315

    🌊 Summer vacation started with a 3-day weekend in Japan (Marine Day). We spent the half of the day in Kamakura. Blue Bottle opened a new cafe in area so we decided to pop in for an iced beverage and some reading time. Afterwards while wondering around looking for lunch we went to Muji Cafe for the first time. Looking back, this visit really speaks gentrification of Kamakura, especially on the komachi dori side of things...but also the spaces were big and easy to get seating at.📚 I finished…

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  2. Monday ActivityEven in darkness the suffering continues 🥵. 31c 70% humidity 8pm. At least this should make autumn run...

    Monday ActivityEven in darkness the suffering continues 🥵. 31c 70% humidity 8pm. At least this should make autumn runs feel easy in comparison.Comment by email 4.4km 32.5min 14.2m climbed avg bpm

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  3. Lunch 😋

    📍 MUJI com Lunch 😋 Location: Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, JapanComment by email

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  4. Enjoying a cold brew in this heat.

    📍 BLUE BOTTLE COFFEE KAMAKURA CAFE (ブルーボトルコーヒー 鎌倉カフェ) Enjoying a cold brew in this heat. Location: Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, JapanComment by email

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  5. The Week #214

    🎯 Using OmniFocus and GTD has really helped me get more organized at work and at home. Things I would continually forget, remember, tell myself I'll do in 10 minutes, then subsequently forget about are actually getting done. It's been really good.One area that I think it's a game changer for me at work is being able to explicitly track waiting for/delegated tasks with dates. Not that I couldn't do this before by writing notes or adding things to calendars, but I can create a custom perspective…

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  6. The Week #213

    🍿 We saw Toy Story 5 in English. What a film, perhaps my favorite one yet? The writers really do hit the nail on the head about the challenges that parenting in the world of prolific screens provides. How do you balance between keeping your kid engaged with the real world and socialising with their friends (when a lot of that starts to happen online). And when every kid is a dopamine addicted iPad kid...how do you find that balance? (The answer is enforced boundaries, but that gets harder and…

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  7. Toy Story 5!

    📍 Yokohama Burg 13 (横浜ブルク13) Toy Story 5!Location: Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, JapanComment by email

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  8. 😋

    📍 mango tree cafe 😋 Location: Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture, JapanComment by email

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  9. Saturday ActivityHumid hills. 🥵

    Saturday ActivityHumid hills. 🥵Comment by email 4.3km 31.5min 53.8m climbed avg bpm

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  10. The Week #312

    6️⃣ This post marks 6 years of writing The Week. Technically it was last week, but I proper missed, without just flubbing the status, the 6th year anniversary post and I don't really remember what I did. When I started mid-pandemic, I wasn't sure how long I'd continue. And truthfully, in this age of LLMs stealing all the content and fakes, at times I question if I should continue, but if I stopped it's a win for the the bad guys and the closed internet, and we can't have that.🇦🇺 One of the…

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  11. Decompress after immigration

    📍 Starbucks Decompress after immigration Location: Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, JapanComment by email

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  12. Extending the period of validity on my resident card

    📍 Tokyo Regional Immigration Bureau Yokohama District Immigration Office (東京入国管理局 横浜支局) Extending the period of validity on my resident cardLocation: Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, JapanComment by email

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  13. Short rest before heading home.

    📍 Air New Zealand Koru Lounge Short rest before heading home.Location: Mascot, NSW, AustraliaComment by email

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  14. Another magic 😋

    📍 Denis the Menace Another magic 😋 Location: Melbourne, VIC, AustraliaComment by email

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  15. First Magic in Aus (this time)

    📍 Axil Coffee Roasters First Magic in Aus (this time) Location: Cremorne, VIC, AustraliaComment by email

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  16. (untitled)

    📍 Pillar of Salt Location: Melbourne, VIC, AustraliaComment by email

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  17. Transfer to MEL

    📍 Sydney Airport (SYD) Transfer to MEL Location: Mascot, NSW, AustraliaComment by email

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  18. As is tradition. BRB, going to Aus

    📍 ANA LOUNGE As is tradition. BRB, going to Aus Location: Tokyo, Tokyo Prefecture, JapanComment by email

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  19. The Week #311

    🛝 Leo had a field trip to Children's Nature Park nearby in Asahi-ward and he liked it so much we went again on the weekend. What an incredible park, absolutely massive. I had seen it on maps for years, but never went because it was usually the middle of summer and existing outside in summer in Japan is sub-optimal at best. The park is so large and green you can't even tell you're in Yokohama any longer. Seems like a fantastic place to go for a run.We rode down a big rolly slide that cuts…

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  20. Big ass rolly slide ftw!

    📍 とりでの森 Big ass rolly slide ftw! Location: Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, JapanComment by email

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  21. 5am run clubGet some while it’s cool. I really should go to this coffee shop once before they retire and close up.

    5am run clubGet some while it’s cool. I really should go to this coffee shop once before they retire and close up.Comment by email 5.0km 33.3min 56.7m climbed avg bpm

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  22. The Week #310

    ☀️ I signed Leo up for an intensive English class this summer. It's only a week, but it will be full of kids like him. Classes in the morning and activities in the afternoon. I am quite curious to see how much progress can be made in short, intensive sprints.☕️ Many moons ago when we were at T-Site Shonan, I remembered seeing a kid with his dad at the Starbucks and I looked forward to that day coming. And for the past couple of years it seemed like it wouldn't. But try hard enough and it does.…

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  23. Morning RunGet some!

    Morning RunGet some!Comment by email 5.1km 33.5min 58.4m climbed avg bpm

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  24. Evening RunThankfully still cooling down in the evening.

    Evening RunThankfully still cooling down in the evening.Comment by email 4.6km 30.0min 17.8m climbed avg bpm

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  25. The Week #308

    🩺 We went to a local university festival and it was a lot of fun. It's not a regular festival (though there is yakisoba!) as there are a lot of educational / experience opportunities and the money you do pay (when required) acts as a donation. The first big standout thing we did this year at the Yokohama medical association where Leo and I got to wear the white doctor's coat, then practice our electrocautery skills on an eggplant.🫨 The second standout thing was this big earthquake simulator…

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  26. Waiting for the trains to clear.

    📍 Saza Coffee (サザコーヒー) Waiting for the trains to clear. Location: Minato, Tokyo Prefecture, JapanComment by email

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  27. The Week #307

    ☀️ It's the middle of May and it's already 30 degrees out. The few short weeks of spring are never long enough. At least it's still cool in the mornings and at night.🏨 One of my credit card rewards is a free night stay at a hotel. That free night was about to expire, so rather than let it expire I booked a guy's night at a hotel in downtown Yokohama for me and Leo. The overall day was a huge success but....🏊 The hotel's website says they have a fitness center and a pool. Naturally, I assume…

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  28. Evening RunBurning a bit of lunch off. Started off with some hills, think I’ll do that some more.

    Evening RunBurning a bit of lunch off. Started off with some hills, think I’ll do that some more.Comment by email 5.0km 31.4min 36.8m climbed avg bpm

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  29. Breakfast with Boyo

    📍 Starbucks Breakfast with Boyo Location: Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, JapanComment by email

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  30. The Week #306

    📈 I noticed a few tech stocks (Digital Ocean, Intel) that I bought a few years ago that almost immediately went underwater have not only come above water, they've doubled. I generally don't like to hold too many individual stocks (it's a bit like gambling), so I took this as an opportunity to sell and buy my usual index funds.While they could (especially Intel) continue to go up long-term, I'd rather keep it boring.🎶 I've been listening to a lot of Deki Alem, the spiritual successor to The…

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